Please join us at Marci’s house for her brothers’s book, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. The potluck theme is FRENCH food.

“William Kamkwamba was born in Malawi, Africa, a country plagued by AIDS and poverty. Like most people in his village, his family subsisted on the meager crops they could grow, living without the luxuries—consider necessities in the West—of electricity or running water. Already living on the edge, the situation became dire when, in 2002, Malawi experienced the worst famine in 50 years. Struggling to survive, 14-year-old William was forced to drop out of school because his family could not afford the $80-a-year tuition.

Though he was not in a classroom, William continued to think, learn—and dream. Armed with curiosity, determination, and a library book he discovered in a nearby library, he embarked on a daring plan—to build a windmill that could bring his family the electricity only two percent of Malawians could afford. Using scrap metal, tractor parts, and blue-gum trees, William forged a crude yet working windmill, an unlikely hand-built contraption that would successfully power four light bulbs and two radios in his family’s compound. Soon, news of his invention spread, attracting interest and offers of help from around the world. Not only did William return to school but he and was offered the opportunity to visit wind farms in the United States, much like the ones he hopes to build across Africa.

A moving tale of one boy’s struggle to create a better life, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is William’s amazing story—a journey that offers hope for the lives of other Africans—and the whole world, irrefutably demonstrating that one individual can make a difference.”

Exercise of the Week: Up Down Push Up-Get into a plank position with legs extended and body in neutral. Slowly lower onto one elbow and then the other, return back to the hands and repeat. After a certain number of reps or amount of time switch to the other arm as the “lead”.

To make this less intense, perform from the knees instead of the toes.

The Prenatal “Why” of his Exercise: This exercise is a great exercise for the prenatal woman in terms of core strength and balance. The upper body strength will also train them for the job of motherhood.

Exercise of the Week: Woodchop-This exercise is a wonderfully functional movement to strengthen the core in the transverse plane. Place one handle of the tube on the ground and then stand on the tube with both feet. Hold onto the tube with both hands and choke up on the tube. Go down into a squat and as you rise out of the squat rotate the torso to the other side. Be sure to cue that the abdominals create this movement and that it involves very little shoulder work.